Sometimes the spot where you thought a plant would look cool a few years ago didn't turn out to be such a good choice afterall. Maybe it was sunnier or shadier than you expected, (read really- you didn't notice how sunny it was or wasn't before you planted), the shrub got too big (read really- you didn't plan for how big it would get...) or you just thought it would look better on the other side of the yard (read really- well, sometimes that happens). I move alot of plants around in my garden (because I have so many crammed in). It certainly is easier to pop out a perennial and move it than it is to dig out a shrub, but it can be done. And if it is in the wrong spot now, it is still going to be in the wrong spot later- be brave and try to move it! Of course larger plants may require a landscaper, root balls with heavy soil make for some serious work. This week I moved a rose bush, which was under a 'Seiryu' Japanese Maple. After 12 years in this garden, the canopy is now shading all the space underneath, making for the wrong light for a rose. I also had to (ok, I asked my husband to..) dig out and discard a rather large Globe Blue Spruce. That was on the back side of the 'Seiryu' and hadn't been getting proper sun for a few years. I should have moved it 5 years ago, but as it was a few days ago, it looked scrappy and went to plant heaven (compost for my garden.) I moved 2 Hydrangea in to these now open areas, as they were being crowded where they had been planted and needed some more space. I bought both the Hydrangea in little quart pots around 5 years ago and they finally have some size to them. I had a Daylily that also found a new home, it was on a spot where I cut a corner when I walked the garden, and the ground around it was very compact. It had been struggling for a few years. Now it has a nice new spot where I am sure it will once again thrive. Your garden is dynamic and ever changing. Plants grow, plants die, new plants come home with you. Shift and adjust with the flow of your garden.

If you are going to move plants around, this is a great time to do so. If it is a larger shrub, it is beneficial to remove 1/3 or so of the canopy to compensate for root loss when you dig it out. Water them well the evening before and have the hole dug where they will be going. Most roots grow out rather than down, so a wider root ball is a key factor of successful transplanting. The "drip line" is the area directly under the outer edge canopy of the foliage. So if your shrub is 3' wide, the drip line would be a 3' circle on the ground under the foliage. With a nice sharp spade (1st choice) or shovel (2nd choice) follow this imaginary line around the circle until you meet up with where you started. Make decisive thrusts at a 45 degree-ish angle into the ground with your spade to get clean cuts on the roots. You may need a pair of pruners too for larger roots that your spade has to mangle to cut. Certainly some plants will move easier than others, based on what kind of root system they have. As you pop it out of the ground, place the root system on a piece of burlap or an old sheet to cradle the root system and prevent as much soil as possible from falling off. Take it over to your other spot. Now here is another spot where success is made or broken. Plants hate to be planted too deep. 2" too deep can kill a tree! So check the depth of your new hole against the depth of your root system and make sure the depths match. It is even good to plant a little too high (1-2") to allow for settling. If you don't check before you put your plant in the new hole, you may need to pull it out and put it back in a few times, and now you are losing soil off the roots and success % is dropping. Once properly in the hole, back fill with amended soil and lightly tamp (not smash) the soil firmly around the roots. Give it a good drink, tell it you love it and that it will love its new home. Follow with drinks once a week when we don't get good soaking rain. Some perennials and shrubs really don't like to be moved. But if the shrub or perennial isn't in the right spot, it is better to take the chance of moving it to a better spot than to let it limp along til it dies.

Be brave, try it! Once you do a few, it will be like trying the couch in a new spot! :) Yay for spring chores and looking forward to changes in the garden! Happy Wonderful Sunshiney day! ~Erica 

Hello beautiful gardeners! We had alot of questions about pruning this week- everyone is itching to get the landscape and gardens back in shape.... (haha, pun intended!) If you are pruning a flowering shrub, you need to know if it blooms early in the spring (before May) or early summer/summer/autumn. Shrubs that bloom early each year made flower buds last summer. If you prune them now, you will be cutting off flowers. Examples: Azaleas, Rhododendron, Lilacs, Mockorange, early blooming Clematis. Shrubs such as Butterfly bush, Knockout roses, Roses, summer blooming Spirea, Summer blooming clematis make new flower buds each spring as they grow. So by giving them a chopping, you will cause more new growth, hence more flowers. When pruning, it is best to prune 1/4 inch above a set of leaf buds, slightly at an angle. There is a-whole-lot of hedge trimmers firing up right now controlling everything into squares and meatballs. Yuck. I actually like the formal look of that in front of certain houses, but for the most part I believe people are doing it because either they think that is what they are supposed to do (the neighbor across the street does it that way...), or the shrubs they have get too big if they don't prune them back (shrubs and trees never get too big, we don't plan and research our choices properly), or there are some serious control issues going on in the head of the gardener doing it. I actually saw ornamental grasses cut into squares last autumn!!! Plan accordingly and develop a low maintenance garden that doesn't need to be controlled. It is fabulous (and low maintenance) to let your garden be free flowing and natural looking.

One of the biggest pruning mis-steps is with Hydrangea. They really look "sticky and deadish" for awhile in to mid-late spring. If you prune them down now, you are most likely removing flower buds. The exception is the white flowering ones, which seem to be the ones you do want to whack. The ones that get colored flowers should only have last year's dead flowers removed to the first set of buds. You can't imagine how many people call us in July and August and want to know why their Hydrangea didn't bloom again this year. First question from us..."when did you prune it?" Crape Myrtle are another confuser. Back in the day, the varieties weren't so hardy, so they were pruned to the ground to start anew each year. The today varieties are hardy and only should be lightly pruned to remove any winter killed twigs after they leaf out (usually not til the 2nd week of May- they wake up very slow each year, don't think they are dead!!) Pruning them hard can remove a full month of flowers from your summer! There are varieties of Crape Myrtle that aren't cold hardy here in central PA (of course HG researches all of ours to make sure they are....)  If you aren't sure- "To prune or not to prune.....that is the question..." then call HG and we will be happy to steer you in the proper chopping direction.

Keep those pruning tools sharp! Happy brisk day! ~Erica